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On February 18-24, in the framework of the Georgia Carnivore Conservation
Project, Tushetian shepherds and farmers on the winter pastures of the
Vashlovani National Park were given trainings on issues relating to tending
livestock. The trainings were held by members of the Kakheti Regional
Association of Veterinarians under the coordination of the Center for Management
of Veterinarians’ Associations and were directly monitored by the head of the
group for response to conflict between humans and carnivores created in the
framework of the Carnivore Conservation Project.

Position Statement on Lifting the Ban on Hunting of Red List Species in Georgia

19 January 2012

With the recent changes to the legislation the ban on Red List species hunting in Georgia has been lifted allowing shooting of even those species that were originally
driven to the verge of extinction due to excessive hunting.

Since the establishment of the current national red list in 2006, the Georgian government has failed to meet the requirements of the international as well as national legislation:

NACRES Appeal to the Parliament of Georgia

On the purposed amendments to the hunting regulations and procedures

NACRES welcomes the wish of the Parliament of Georgia to improve the hunting
legislation. This initiative is viewed as a sign of the recognition of monetary
values of the wildlife, which may be expected to serve as a prerequisite of
increased control of illegal hunting in the country.

New Images by Photo Traps

NACRES together with Fauna and Flora International (FFI) and WWF carries on
research on leopard and lynx study through photo traps. Our fieldworks cover the
territories of Vashlovani Protected Areas and Chachuna Managed Reserve. The main
goal of the research is to shoot a new photo of leopard as well as to estimate
lynx population in semi-arid ecosystem. We fixed 50
photo traps on the territory in March and have already got first results.

On the Traces of Leopard

NACRES together with WWF and the Agency of Protected Areas have launched a
joint initiative the aim of which is to discover the traces of leopard in Tusheti.
The field works started in July. We fixed 11 photo traps on the territory of Tusheti
National Park. Many large mammal species found in the park were captured on the
films of our remote sensing cameras. In September the results were as follows:
bezoar goat (75), wolf (15), brown bear (5), roe-deer (2), tur (3), and Caucasian
snowcock (10). Unfortunately no photos of leopard have been found on the
territory so far.

Currently NACRES carries out the analysis of the data collected during the
field trip. Monitoring of large mammals with remote sensing cameras continues
in Tusheti National Park.

Otter Video

The project, "Eurasian Otter Research and Conservation in Georgia"
launched in 2004 is part of NACRES’ long-term study of the otter
population of the Alazani valley (East Georgia). This video was
taken in the wild by NACRES’ remote sensing camera. This is the
first video of otter in Georgia.

NACRES is a
non-governmental, not for profit organisation that was founded in 1989. Its
mission is to safeguard the biodiversity of Georgia and the South Caucasus,
through conservation activities at national and local levels, based on sound
science, sustainability principles and local participation.